To Waltz
by Wingleader Sora Jade
Summary: General/Senshi, set in the Silver Millenium. At Princess Venus's 16th birthday party, Kunzite realizes he doesn't know how to waltz. So Princess Venus offers to teach him...


To Waltz 

by WSJ 

Yes, yes, I know. -.-; I should be working on _The Yamis of Tokyo U_. I'm sorry. I just had this huge, unexplainable erge to write a Sailor Moon romance, even though my main areas of writing are Yu-gi-oh and Gundam. 

This was inspired by the combined efforts of my romance muse, Elyssa, and my drama/angst/romance muse Fiore. ^^ And also the watching of Sailor Moon R: Promise of the Rose and the attempt of my drama teacher to instruct me in the waltz. _I_ get it just fine, but my partner has two left feet. *makes a sour face* Anyway, hope you enjoy! ^_^ 

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. Nope. Sorry. 

Time frame: the Silver Millenium, Princess Venus's sixteenth birthday ball. 

Coupling(s): Mainly Venus/Kunzite, with bits of Endymion/Serenity, Mars/Jadite, Jupiter/Nephrite, and Mercury/Zoicite. Obviously, I'm going by the original version of the anime and manga, in which Zoicite is a man. (my sister doesn't believe me when I tell her that. ^^;) 

()()()()() 

"Happy Birthday Princess Venus!" 

...said the banners draping the main ballroom of Magellon Castle. As expected, they were done in gold and orange, the colours of Venus, as was the marble of the very stones in the floor itself. 

Princess Venus herself was dressed in a long golden gown that was clasped over one shoulder, leaving the other bare. The long lengths of fabric flowed like water over her sleek figure, leading the eye to wander and the mind to imagine. Her long hair was tied back with a red bow, a gift from the King and Queen of Mars, and her blue eyes sparkled as usual. It was her sixteenth birthday and the ball was in full tilt. 

The King and Queen of Venus were seated on their thrones on a raised dais at one end of the hall, conversing with the other attending monarchs. Lady Mercury and Lady Jupiter were laughing over some doings at Jupiter Castle, while their husbands discussed in hushed tones the goings-on of the Moon Kingdom United Force of Arms with King Mars and King Venus. Lady Mars and Lady Venus, who had been close friends since their time together at the Moon Palace as girls, were talking with Lady Uranus, who had been, regrettably, the only of the Outer Kingdom monarchs who had been able to attend. 

Although nothing had come since the Great War a thousand-and-one years ago, which had given rise to the Silver Millenium, rumors of war flew fast and often these days. Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn were in almost constant states of high-alert, watching for any sign of trouble from without the solar system. 

Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom had been unable to attend, but had sent Princess Serenity and the Earth-Prince Endymion in her stead. Both would have come anyway, since they were good friends of Venus's, but Queen Serenity wished her well anyways. Endymion had also brought along four of his generals, whom Venus had seen before but had never been formally introduced to. 

Besides Princess Serenity and the Princess Venus herself, the Princesses of Jupiter, Mercury, and Mars were also there, being very close friends of Venus. Currently the four Inner Princesses were standing in a small knot in the corner of the room, waiting for Princess Serenity to look up from Endymion long enough to notice them. 

Princess Mars, her long raven hair tied back into a loose pony-tail, was dressed in a gown much the same as Venus's, save that it clasped on both shoulders and was done in the smoldering scarlets and deep reds of the planet Mars. It was from gowns like hers and Venus's that the Greek civilization of Earth gleaned most of their fasions, deaming the two princesses goddesses, much to their amusement. This evening Mars's violet eyes were snapping as she frowned at Serenity. 

"She clings to Prince Endymion as if he were a slab of beef." she said disapprovingly. Of all the princesses, Mars was really the closest to Serenity, and the two often traded jabs and banter that would seem horribly scandilous to an outsider. 

The other Inner Senshi knew of this though, and simply sighed. Princess Jupiter spoke up to Mars, her green eyes lighted with a wry humor. "You're one to talk, Mars. I see the way your eyes follow that blond general. You'll have to have Endymion introduce you." 

The oldest and tallest of the girls, Jupiter was dressed in a conservative emerald-coloured gown, and though the sleeves draped to belles at her elbows and trailed to the ground, it was made of a very light, filmy material in honor of the delightfully warm weather on Venus, a direct contrast to Jupiter's usual cool mountains. Her hair was gathered into a French braid that reached to the middle of her back and was tied with a pink ribbon that matched her rose-shaped earrings, which her mother had given her for her last birthday. 

"Shush," Princess Mercury said, seeing the way Mars's face was beginning to grow red in embarrassment and anger. "Jupiter, don't tease." 

The Princess Mercury was Venus's closest friend, seeing as their planets were closer, and they were able to see each other more often. Mercury was the youngest of the four Inner Princesses, and only Serenity and Princess Saturn juniored her at all. Mercury was also the most sensible, and all the princesses, even the elusive Outer Princess trio of Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus, whom the Inner Princesses had only met on occation, would listen to her if she had something to say. Her gown was a deep blue, the colour of her planet as it spun through space, and was high-necked. It flowed like water down to her ankles, and was belted around her slender waist with a sash of lighter blue. 

"Sorry Mercury," Jupiter said, rubbing the back of her head. "I didn't mean any harm. Sorry Mars." 

"No harm." Mars said, her face breaking into a smile as she clasped Jupiter's hand affectionatly. "I may have Endymion introduce me to the general, at that." 

"That is, if he and Serenity ever stop gazing into each others' eyes." Venus said, speaking up for the first time. "They've been doing nothing but for the past ten minutes. Don't they ever grow tired of looking at the same face?" 

"What would you know of true love?" Jupiter asked apprehensively, nudging Venus in the side. "Perhaps in love, you never tire of looking at the other." 

"I'd sure never tire of looking at him," Mars sighed, again looking at the blond-haired Earth-general, who was now beginning to return her glances with shy smiles. "I've got to know his name!" 

"It is Jadite," said a deep voice from behind them. "And he's admired you from afar for a long time, Princess Mars. Why wait for Endymion to introduce you?" 

The four girls turned to see a young man a little older then Jupiter, dressed in the same uniform as Jadite, save that the piping was of a different colour. His hair reached to mid-back in silky waves, the deep auburn setting off his sky blue eyes perfectly. 

"O-oh," Mars said, slightly flustered that her crush had been discovered by one of Jadite's own peers. "Per-perhaps I will. You said he's seen me before? How is it that we've never met?" 

The general chuckled. "We are many places that you do not see us, m'lady. We are trained for secrecy and steath. But my friend Jadite has always admired and, if I may be so bold as to say it, loved you for a long time." 

"Yes," said a slightly higher voice from the direction Mars had last noted Jadite's presence. "And now that Nephrite has spilled all my secrets to the four winds, may I have this dance, Princess?" 

It seemed that when he'd seen Nephrite conversing with the four, the general in question had made his way over to join the group. Mars turned to see Jadite looking at her with hopeful eyes, one gloved hand out-stretched. His hair, a bit darker then Venus's, fell in alluring ripples over his forehead and into his eyes, which were almost the same violet as Mars's own. The dark grey of his dress uniform, its red piping a startling coincidence, stood out against his pale complection. He was taller then her, but not by much. Blushing, Mars allowed herself to be led out to the dance floor. 

The next set of songs the band was playing started up just as Serenity and Endymion finally made their way over to the group standing by the north wall, which now consisted of Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and General Nephrite. Serenity gave the dance floor a shrewd look as she slid up next to her three friends. Behind them Endymion and Nephrite fell into easy conversation. 

"Is that Mars I see dancing with General Jadite?" she asked, hooking an arm conspirativly through one of Venus's. 

Venus chuckled and nodded. "Of course." Both women turned around just in time to see General Nephrite offering his hand to Jupiter, who nodded and smiled at him. Together they too headed for the dance floor. "Goodness, it seems everyone is dancing." 

Endymion was beconing to someone, and a moment later a third man dressed in the grey uniform of Earth made his way over. He had long blond hair about the same colour as Jadite's, and had it pulled back into a low pony tail. His eyes were light blue in colour. He bowed to Endymion, who inclined his head in mutual greeting. "Have you seen Kunzite?" 

Zoicite shook his head. "No, I have not. I'm sorry." 

"It's all right. Ladies, this is General Zoicite, General Jadite's older brother. Zoi, this is Princess Mercury, Princess Venus, and of course Princess Serenity." 

"Nice to see you again, General." Serenity said, nodding to the man. 

Zoicite smiled and bowed to her. "Always a pleasure m'lady. And happy birthday to you, Princess Venus." he bowed again, and kissed Venus's hand, causing her to blush. "And Princess Mercury." he bowed to her as well, also kissing her hand. Poor Mercury wasn't used to this, and blushed crimson. 

"It-it is nice to meet you, sir." she stammered. 

Zoicite flashed her a magnificint smile. "Dance with me? Do you know the _liinyae_?" 

Mercury's eyes brightened at the mention of the traditional dance of her planet, which was actually rather like a waltz. "Of course I do! But how did you come to know it, General Zoicite?" 

"Please, just Zoi. I'm Mercurian too, you know..." Their voices faded as they disappeared among the dancers. Serenity sighed in happiness. "Ah, young love..." 

"Young love?" Venus asked, looking at her friend. "You, Sere', are younger then any of us here. And, must I point out, you are also in love." 

Serenity giggled. "Guilty as charged Venus!" She suddenly perked up and grabbed Endymion's arm. "Will you excuse us Venus? I love this song!" 

"Sure..." Venus said, but the Prince and Princess had already disappeared into the crowd. She sighed heavily and snatched a glass of wine from the tray of a nearby waiter. She wandered around the ballroom a bit, talking here and there to aquaintences of her parents'. Finally she excused herself and went out onto the balcony, looking out over the rolling plains that made up the area around Magellon Castle. 

She leaned against the railing, her hair spilling around her shoulders. She took a deep gulp of wine, sighing again. "Sometimes I dream with open eyes - I dream of falling in love..." The song was as familiar to her as the plains she was looking out on. "To be in love, Must be the sweetest feeling that a girl can feel. To be in love. To live a dream, With somebody you care about like no one else..." 

"A special man, A dearest man, Who needs to share his life with you alone." 

Venus gasped and whirled around at the sound of the voice. "Who's there?!" 

A man stepped out of the shadows at the side of the door back into the ballroom, and smiled placidly at her. "I didn't mean to startle you princess. Forgive me." 

She frowned slightly as she peered at him. "Who are you? And what were you doing hiding behind the doors?" 

Suddenly the man looked uncomfortable. "I don't know how to dance..." 

Venus laughed, stepping forward. "Is that all? I'd love to teach you." 

He looked hopeful. "Really? It's a bit of a source of embarrassment to me... My name is Kunzite." He smiled at her, and she smiled back. He had long whitish-blue hair that hung just past his shoulders, and blue-grey eyes. He was dressed a bit unformally for a princess's gala, in grey dress pants and a white button-up shirt, with the sleeves rolled up and the top button undone. 

"What do we do first?" 

Venus blinked, and she was suddenly thankful that it wasn't very light out here, so that he wouldn't see her blush. She'd been too busy checking him out that she'd forgotten her offer to teach him to dance. Now she wasn't so sure she wanted to. He was hansom, oh was he hansom! and his well-muscled figure looked like it could tear a man it two... Aarg! She was doing it again! Venus forced her mind back onto the task at hand. "Well, first the boy and girl have to meet." 

Kunzite looked confused. "We've already done that." 

Venus laughed. "No silly, I mean formally. First you bow," He did so. "And then I curtsy." She did, and then he held out his hand. 

"I know that much." 

She laughed again. "Apparently not. Your other hand, Sir Kunzite." 

He looked embarrassed, and offered his right hand to her, dropping his left back to his side. "I knew that. Okay, what now?" 

"Step forward onto your right foot, then bring your left up next to it, that's right! Now step back, switch hands, and go the other way." 

"This isn't so hard." 

"Not until we get to the next step. Now give me your other hand, and turn like this... There. Now spin me." Venus grinned at Kunzite's awkward attempts to waltz with her, but after a few tries they had the first steps down. 

"Now what?" 

"Now you step closer to me, and I'll put my hand on your shoulder, and you put yours around my waist. Step, twirl, step, twirl, like that." She demonstrated, pretending to dance with an imaginary partner. As she spun by he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close to him. 

"Like this?" 

Venus's breath caught in her throat, a blush dreeping into her cheeks. "Y-yes, just like that..." Her brain finally passed along the message that it needed air, and she sucked in a deep breath. Along with the air came a rich, spicy scent, either Kunzite's shampoo or his aftershave. She blinked and blushed harder. "N-not to be rude, Sir Kunzite, but what is that scent?" 

"Cherry blossems," he said almost off-handedly. "They only grow on Earth, so it isn't a surprise that you wouldn't recognise it." _God she's gorgeous!_ he thought as they continued to dance. _But she's a princess... And I'm not a prince._ Without warning Venus leaned closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He stiffened for a moment, but then relaxed and slowly stopped dancing. "Princess?" 

Venus looked up at him, a faint dusting of pink across her nose. Her eyes were the exact colour of the sea near Kunzite's home town of Rome, Italy, and he suddenly found himself at a loss for words as he stared at her. "Yes, Sir Kunzite?" 

"I-" he trailed off, and then, without a thought, he leaned down and kissed her. She responded in a way he'd never even dared hope that she would. The kiss was ended all too soon, however, when a voice from inside the ballroom yelled "Kunzite!" 

The two jumped away from each other, but after a brief moment they decided that no one had seen them. "That was Endymion," Kunzite said after a brief pause. "You've been neglecting your duties as hostess, and I should probably be out there too." He walked over to the shadows where he'd first been standing and stooped to pick something up off the marble. He pulled on the jacket, and then clasped the cape to his shoulders. Then he stood up to face Venus again. 

The meaning of the uniform his Venus square in the face. _He's Endymion's fourth general!_ she thought her mind in turmoil. She stepped closer to him. "General Kunzite, I didn't realize-" 

He stopped her with two fingers touched gently to her lips. "Shhh...." She was surprised to feel a tear trail down her cheek. Kunzite flicked it away and leaned down to kiss her again, though this time on the hand. "There is already one allience between the Moon and Earth that is not well looked-upon. I cannot have you." 

"But what if _I_ want _you_?" Venus asked, another tear trailing down her cheek. 

The corner of Kunzite's mouth flickered upward for a moment. "General Kunzite could never marry Princess Venus." He turned to go back into the ballroom, and his last words drifted to Venus as if from a much greater distance. 

"But _Sir_ Kunzite is always at your call." 


End file.
